Case Studies

Electric School Bus Pilot Programs NY Case Studies

WHITE PLAINS, NY WHERE: White Plains School District in Westchester County, NY

DETAILS: This pilot has been running since the fall of 2018. White Plains School District serves more than 7,000 students and transports at least 5,000 students each day. About 57% of students are Latinx and 55% of students come from “economically disadvantaged” families. Additionally, Westchester County is known for its poor air quality, often receiving an “F” on the American Lung Association’s State of the Air report card.

PLAYERS:

● ConEdison, the local electric utility ● New York State Energy Research and Development

Authority (NYSERDA) ● National Express LLC, school bus service provider ● Lion Electric Bus Company, electric school bus manufacturer

COSTS: Each bus costs approximately $365,000, compared to their diesel counterparts that cost approximately $110,000.

The project was partially funded by NYSERDA’s Truck Voucher Incentive Program, which provides state grant funds for electric vehicles. National Express received a NYSERDA grant that was used to offset $120,000 of the cost of each vehicle. ConEdison paid $100,000 per bus. ConEdison and National Express paid for the chargers. National Express is paying the energy costs during the school year and all of the maintenance costs.

VEHICLE-TO-GRID: ConEdison and National Express have an arrangement where ConEdison will use the buses as a grid asset during the summer peak months when they are parked at National Express’s bus depot.

CHARGING: Buses are housed and charged at the White Plains National Express depot. National Express is working with Nuvve, an EV charging company, to track metrics such as miles per charge and energy consumed using new “smart chargers” that record data from each electric school bus.

DETAILS:

● Lion Electric offered bus driver and operator training in the beginning of the program. Training for drivers is essential for efficiency and driver comfort. ● ConEd is running a Vehicle to Grid (V2G) demonstration with these buses. This two-way charging technology allows the school bus batteries to be plugged into the grid over the summer to provide increased grid capacity during peak periods. Incorporating V2G technology into electric school bus infrastructure is one of the best ways to offset some of the high upfront costs of the buses.

If run efficiently, the V2G technology could generate around $3,000 per vehicle per year, offsetting electricity costs and potentially generating additional revenue.

White Plains’ V2G program will run fully for the first time during summer 2020. ● As of now, the buses can run 70 miles on a single charge, more than enough for the 10 mile routes they typically do. Vehicle uptime, or the percentage of time the vehicle is available to perform its intended function, is currently at 95%. Unlike reports from other pilot programs, cold weather has not affected the school buses’ batteries or operation.

CHALLENGES:

● V2G integration: Since the technology is new, the V2G program has been delayed several months. The V2G program launched in summer 2020. ● Charging infrastructure: The bus depot needed to be reconfigured so the buses could be positioned correctly and receive enough energy to charge.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Overall, the buses run very well and have had few operational issues. Stakeholders report savings on fuel and maintenance costs, estimated to be about $10,000 per year. 2. Uncharted territory: This program will serve as a good example of what V2G technology could look like for electric school bus programs in the future. Many electric school bus stakeholders are looking to White

Plains for more answers on how V2G could make electric school buses more economically feasible. 3. While experts expect costs to fall in the future, upfront costs are still a barrier for large-scale electrification of school bus fleets. Small programs will likely need third party investment. More funding sources for school bus electrification could help communities start the transition. 4. Community response has been positive. The community and school district are passionate about clean school buses. Some students have nicknamed the e-school buses “singing buses” because the buses are so quiet the school installed a bell for safety. The superintendent of the White Plains school district called the pilot “a tremendous learning experience.” The pilot program has been an opportunity to teach children about climate change and air pollution issues.

“Within seven years, we think electric school buses will get to a similar price as diesel. But it’s all changing so fast. Three years ago, there was a lot of skepticism about whether electric buses were even feasible. Now, we’re not talking about whether they’re feasible. It’s all about how to make the business case work.”

—MARC BÉDARD, chief executive of Lion Electric (via The New York Times)

BAY SHORE, NY WHERE: Bay Shore School District in Suffolk County on Long Island, NY

DETAILS: This pilot started in the fall of 2019. Bay Shore’s population is 38.3% Hispanic, 36.7% white and 20% African American. Its poverty rate is 9.7%, 3% above the average poverty rate on Long Island. Additionally, Bay Shore is home to multiple New York State superfund sites. This pilot is part of the district’s commitment to an emissionfree transportation system. Their CLEAN BUSES program is an acronym for Continuously Lowering Emissions and NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) Building Uses of Sustainable Environmental Systems.

KEY PLAYERS:

● Bay Shore School District ● Suffolk Transportation Service (STS), school bus service provider ● Blue Bird Buses, electric school bus manufacturer ● McBride Consulting & Business Development Group

COSTS: Each bus cost around $330,000, significantly higher than their diesel counterpartners, which cost approximately $110,000. Suffolk Transportation Service,

STAKEHOLDERS IN BAY SHORE POSE IN FRONT OF A NEW BLUE BIRD ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS IN NOVEMBER 2019.

with the help of McBride Consulting, was awarded a $695,509 grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) to partially fund the program. With the help of the DERA funds, STS purchased four Blue Bird Vision Series electric school buses for the start of the 2019-2020 school year, a project totaling more than $1 million.

CHARGING: The Blue Bird electric buses are being charged by standard Level 2 chargers at one of STS’s depots in Bay Shore and are using charging efficiency measures like overnight charging to reduce the energy load on the grid.

PILOT DETAILS:

● The buses are fully electric and use standard battery powered heaters. ● The bus routes chosen for the pilot were the longest routes that run in the district, each around 10.1 miles. ● Fuel cost savings were noticed right away. The buses replaced had an annual fuel usage rate of 6.6 miles per gallon. By replacing four diesel school buses with electric,

Bay Shore School District is saving a total of 1,667 gallons of fuel per school year, which is equivalent to 17 metric tons of CO2 emissions and around $6,000 in fuel costs.

CHALLENGES:

● Although the buses are supposed to run 120 miles per charge, according to STS, the Blue Bird electric buses received 35 to 36 miles per charge during the winter months. Blue Bird fixed this issue by reducing the cold air intake for the bus batteries during the winter. As a result, the bus range doubled.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. The groups facilitating the program are very dedicated to electric school buses and clean transportation. The teams involved have worked diligently to ensure that issues get addressed quickly. 2. The important role McBride Consulting played in this program highlights the need for more technical assis

tance to be made available to school bus operators for state and federal grant applications. 3. Suffolk Transportation Service will continue to expand their pilot programs across Long Island, targeting environmental justice communities that experience air quality issues. They are looking to implement the program in the

Brentwood and Central Islip school districts, both have similar demographics and pollution issues as Bay Shore.

“The addition of these four electric buses will greatly reduce the impact of transporting our students to and from school.” —JOSEPH BOND, Bay Shore Superintendent (via School Transportation News)

“The school bus of the future is here today. These fully electric buses are clean, efficient and provide a smooth, quiet ride.” —JOHN CORRADO, Suffolk Transportation Service founder (via Patch)